MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, March 9, 2016 Thompson Community Center
PROGRAM SUMMARY
“The History of Appleton Dairy Queens”
CALL TO ORDER BY PRESIDENT TOM SUTTER
TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 81
OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:
Tom Sutter, Christine Williams, James Richter, Laura Leimer, Mark Moderson, Brian Schneider, Gwen Sargeant, John Marx, Linda Muldoon, and Diana Sandberg.
REVIEW OF UPCOMING MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS:
April 13 The Surley Surveyor – Rob Nurre
Fox Valley Symphony – Janet and Tom Sutter Hidden Churches – Angie Knutson
May 11
June 8
July 13
August 10 WHBY – Steve Bell
September 14 Rio Theater and Worlitzer organ – Tom McNeely October 12 Haunted Appleton – Chad Lewis
November 9 The Appleton Picture Show. Bring your own photos for show and tell!
Appleton War Memorials – Alex Schultz
APPLETON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION:
AHS Officers:
A. President - Thomas Sutter
B. Vice President - Gwen Sargeant C. Secretary – James Richter
D. Treasurer – Laura Leimer
AHS Board of Directors:
A.Terms through November 2017:
1.Mark Moderson
2.John Marx
3.Laura Leimer
4.Diana Sandberg
B.Terms through November 2016:
1. LindaMuldoon
2. Jim Krueger
3. Gwen Sargeant
4. Brian Schneider
C. Terms through November 2018:
1. Tom Sutter
2. Christine Williams
3. JamesRichter
Committee Chairs for the organization are as follows:
A. Mark and Karen Moderson, Principal Organizers
B. Brian Schneider, Technical Resources
C. David Buss and Diana Sandberg, Research Specialists D. Gwen Sargeant, Public Relations and Web Page
E. Christine Williams, Monthly Programs
F. Gwen Sargeant, Publications
Upcoming Special Events
August 21 2pm - Riverside Cemetery Walk, “Pioneer Appleton Residents”
December 3 9-12:30 History Fair at the Indoor Farmer’s Market, City Center Plaza
PRESIDENT SUTTER ANNOUNCEMENTS:
A.Introduced Officers and Board Members.
B.Thanks to the Post Crescent for it’s announcement of tonight’s meeting and all of
it’s support.
C.Gave a further report on the planned closing of our monthly meeting place, the
Thompson Community Center, which has been our home for two years. Lutheran Social Services, owner of the building, no longer can continue to operate at a loss to provide this community facility. As a result, they plan to close the facility effective March 31st. Our AHS Board of Directors has studied a list of potential new sites for our meetings, and decided upon St. Bernadette’s School Building located on Lourdes Drive on Appleton’s south side. We will host our first meeting there on April 13th..
D.Sales of our book Images of America-Appleton continue to go well. Books are available at the registration table. Thanks to Arne Nettekoven for February’s program “On Appleton’s Police Chiefs”.
E.He also gave a report on next year’s monthly programs and special events.
F.Sutter urged members to renew their memberships as soon as possible.
G.He was happy to report that John and Linda Marx will be again manning a table at the Appleton Downtown Farm Market this summer. Thanks for their commitment.
H.The door prize of a $10.00 Dairy Queen Gift Certificate was won by Grace Kiefferreraen.
I.Thanks to the generation of Steve Liebzeit, we were also able to award 5 Dairy Queen Dairy bottles to the audience as well.
J.Finally President Sutter brought History Fair Co-Chairmen James Richter and Mark Moderson to the podium to recognize their efforts in putting on 12 History Fairs.
AHS 12th History Fair Final Report:
Jim Richter, AHS History Fair Co-Chair, then gave a full report on our March 5, 2016, event.
After a light snowstorm and cloudy morning 230 area residents joined us at our 12th History Fair. The event was again held as part of the Appleton Downtown Winter Farm Market at the City Center in downtown Appleton. Those who attended showed great interest and positive comments for our theme, and the variety of exhibits displayed. The event was dedicated to Arvin Wolfgram, an AHS Member and exhibitor, who passed away on February 18th.
Exhibits focused on Appleton’s Historic Financial Institutions and included displays on Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings & Loans. A wide variety of exhibits were displayed.
(1) App Historical Society Welcome Table- Laura Leimer and Christine Williams.
(2) Brian Schneider – Scanning of public pictures and artifacts.
(3) Jim Richter – Appleton State, Valley, M&I, and BMO Harris Bank display.
(4) Jim Krueger- financial institution items and other artifacts.
(5) Mark Moderson - banking, post cards, business items and artifacts.
(6) John Marx – local bank issued currency, bank, savings & loan artifacts.
(7) Dave Kalz – bank and local photos and artifacts.
(8) Sheilah Brucks – banking and other historical artifacts.
(9) Mike King & Pam Litscher – Community First Credit Union 40th Anniversary exhibit.
(10) Dave Buss – Appleton’s Mom & Pops Grocery Stores and banking items. (11) Diana Sandberg, Appleton Public Library – Financial Institution Artifacts. (12) Al Deeg – banking and other business artifacts.
Many thanks to our dedicated exhibitors and all the time and effort they committed to our success! We thank Jennifer Stephany, Djuanna Hugdahl, and Traci Erbrecht of Appleton Downtown Inc. for making the event possible. Thanks also go to Pfefferle Companies Inc. and their City Center Staff for providing space, equipment and assistance. We also appreciate the excellent news coverage that was provided prior to the event by the Appleton Post Crescent, the Bargain Bulletin, and WHBY Radio. Thanks also to Community 1st and Capital Credit Unions who again posted marquee ads.
PROGRAM : “The History of Appleton’s Dairy Queens”
Presenter: Steve Liebzeit, President, Appleton Dairy Queens
Speaker’s Background:
Steve was born to Merlin and Erna Liebzeit in 1954. He spent his first five years living in rural Hilbert, then moved to Appleton in 1960. Steve attended Fox Valley Lutheran HS, graduating in 1972, then attended UW- O. He studied four languages and business, and graduated with a BA degree. Steve applied and was accepted to study international business at UW-Madison, and the American Graduate School of International Management (commonly referred to as Thunderbird) in AZ. Steve was filling out the residency papers for Thunderbird at the kitchen table when Merlin walked in and asked if he was buying the Appleton Dairy Queen stores or not. Steve took over ownership in 1981.
The Program:
Steve Liebzeit is proud to continue a family tradition in the Ice Cream business, and carry on the Dairy Queen name. Their history is a long one filled with many changes.
The Early History:
In 1858 Great Great Grandpa Carl Liebzeit came to Sheboygan County from Arnswalde, Prussia with a wife and children. He settled in the town of Herman. He made his living farming.
In 1913 Carl’s Grandson Henry became a cheesemaker and owned a Cheese Factory in Sheboygan County. He later purchased a cheese factory in Calumet County from a Frank Knier. That plant had no name so Henry chose to call it the “Dairy Queen Cheese Factory”. This factory came with an Ice Cream Making Machine, Cheese Making Equipment, and a Milk Bottling Machine.
The Ice Cream business proved challenging for the Liebzeit family. In 1938 Sherb’s Ice Cream Shop at 255 S. West Avenue offered a coupon that allowed the holder all the Ice Cream they could eat right out of the freezer in dishes at the plant for just ten cents.
In 1938 two men developed a new ice cream mix and a new ice cream process. Then in 1940 they opened the first “Dairy Queen Shop” at 501 N. Chicago in Joliet, Illinois.
Hermann Holdorf was a farmer during the Depression. He and his son, Edwin, worked a
farm a mile down the road from the Liebzeit cheese factory. Henry Liebzeit’s son, Merlin, picked up milk from them and got to know Edwin. Merlin gets Edwin to ask a girl out for him. Edwin asks the girl out for himself and tells Merlin, “You can date my sister.”....and so he did!
May 1939 the sister, Erna, and Merlin start dating. Two and a half years later they were married.
In 1941 Henry and Lydia moved to 938 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton and opened the “Dairy Queen Restaurant”. Shortly after they relocated a couple blocks down the road to 730 W. Wisconsin Ave., which is now the corner of Locust St. and Wisconsin Ave. Henry's hired man and family moved
into the cheese factory house.
In January of 1944 a contract for a partnership between Henry, his wife Lydia, his son Merlin, and Merlin’s wife Erna formed to make the Dairy Queen Products Company”. Merlin and Erna now owned half of the cheese making, milk bottling, and ice cream making business
Shortly after the partnership contract is signed, Merlin is drafted and is sent to Bavaria, Germany.
A BRIEF RELOCATION
• With Merlin in Germany and Erna alone with the baby, Erna moved the milk bottling and ice cream making business to Appleton in a garage behind the existing DQ restaurant.
– Stayed 3mo.
• While at the garage location, John and Hank, Merlin’s high school aged brothers:
-- washed milk bottles before school
--picked pasteurized milk up from Appleton Pure Milk at lunch time
--and finished bottling milk after school
AND THEN A MOVE TO HILBERT
• A previous employee of Pfund Cheese Factory in Sherwood, Julius Schmidt, was discharged from the service
– He approached Erna about a job
– They moved the equipment back to the cheese factory building in Hilbert
THROUGH THE WAR ERNA HAD TO CARRY THE BURDEN OF THE BUSINESS
While in the service, Merlin wrote to Erna (who is raising a baby alone and running a business) saying how miserable he was from saddle sore
– Erna wrote him back saying “POOR BABY!”
--...Merlin didn’t write back for 8 wks.
I’M GOING TO EAT SOME IF IT KILLS ME!
Erna contacted the Red Cross six times for help getting Merlin out of the service due to her appendicitis
--Meanwhile, Erna’s brother Herman was on a 14 day furlough in the area
--The night before Herman went back, not having eaten solid food in months, Erna made a nice homemade dinner for them.
--By midnight her appendix was being taken out in the ER at St. E’s!!!!!
EARLY DISCHARGE GRANTED
• Needing more hands at the factory, Henry writes a letter to General Eisenhower requesting the dismissal of his son Merlin to help run the business
–Merlin had requested a discharge himself and it was granted on Valentines Day 1946
THINGS ARE TAKING OFF!
Erna and Merlin went to a Dairy expo in Atlantic City
– people were commenting how well the business was doing
– Merlin called his lawyer to make sure the Dairy Queen name in WI covered ALL
dairy products
In 1949, Howard Dale of Dairy Queen of Minnesota, requested permission to use the Dairy Queen
name in Wisconsin
– Henry and Merlin said no, entered negotiations
– Merlin was offered the right to develop Dairy Queen drive ins in Appleton, and a five mile radius in all directions, in exchange for allowing the name Dairy Queen to be used in Wisconsin.
The Chronology Continues:
In 1950 Henry and his sons John and Merlin created a new partnership.
On June 4, 1950, the first Appleton “Dairy Queen” was opened at 2000 S. Oneida Street. Since “Ice Milk” was not legal in Wisconsin in 1950, they sold sherbet, just two years later they could sell ice milk.
The same year of the new DQ opening, Henry passed away. Henry’s wife, Lydia, sold her half of the company to Merlin and Erna.
The Liebzeit’s added their north store 1813 N. Richmond Street in 1953. In 1960 the Liebzeit’s sold the Cheese Factory for $7,400.00.
In 1975 the South Oneida location was remodeled with the addition of an enclosed walk-in at the front of the store.
In 1981 Steve Liebzeit purchased the Company from his parents.
In 1993 a brand new, enlarged store was built at the North Richmond Street location. Shortly after a new, enlarged store was added at the South Oneida location.
CREATIVE PROMOTIONS & MARKETING
In the 1950’s the Appleton Dairy Queens had a special visitor. Bertha, an elephant from an area circus, was brought in and housed in their factory building. Miss Appleton and Miss Wisconsin were brought in to do a promotion with Bertha. The community loved it!
For many years the Liebzeit’s had a Dairy Queen float in Appleton’s parades. One year they had a Hawaiian promotion. All the female staff wore Mumu dresses.
Their most memorable promotion or promoter the Dairy Queen’s had was the Dilly Wagon. The Cushman motorized mini-pickup like units were purchased in 1962. After sales of many, many Dilly Bars, the units essentially wore out and were retired in 1970.
In 1993 on the last day of the old store at South Oneida has a 1950’s sale at 1950’s prices. Proved to be a huge success.
ALSO OF NOTE
Galloway Company of Neenah has been supplying their Ice Cream Mix since the 1960’s.
This year Candy, an Ice Cream Cake decorator at the Richmond Street Store, won 1st Place as the #1 Dairy Queen Cake Decorator in the World.
THE PLAYERS
1st generation-Carl, Great great grandpa from Germany
2nd generation-Carl Fredrick Wilhelm-5 years old when came to states with Dad Carl
3rd -Henrik (Henry) George Gottlieb Leibziet th
4th -Merlin
4th -John
4th -Hank
5th -Larry, dipper in high school, now a lawyer
5th -Bev, dipper in high school
5th -Betty, managed Dairy Queen 1982-2003
5th -Dennis (1944-1960)
5th -Steve, current owner
PRESIDENT SUTTER CLOSING REMARKS:
Thanks to Steve Liebzeit for an exceptional program, and for all his donations of items for our monthly drawing. Thanks everyone in the audience for making the Appleton Historical Society a great success.
Respectfully, James L. Richter AHS Secretary, 3/23/16